Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Can the Minister confirm how far British forces are able to operate autonomously in the Gulf? I have been led to understand that the evacuation of US forces on the ground in Iraq depends on British support. I note that the air officer commanding is embedded in a US airbase and I understand that British ships are part of the US-led task force. Are we, in effect, embedded in whatever the Americans do, or can we take back control, to coin a phrase?